The Future of Private Pensions: Proceedings of the 2001 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Law Schools, Section of Employee Benefits

Abstract

Summary of the Proceedings: Our first two speakers, Jonathan Barry Forman and Norman Stein, will discuss cash balance conversions, one of the hottest issues in employee benefits today. Jon Forman will explain what cash balance plans are and why he believes that conversions from traditional defined benefit plans to cash balance plans are legal. Norman Stein will talk about the public policy implications of cash balance conversions - whether they should be legal. Our next two speakers, Dana Muir and Jeffrey Lewis, will discuss three key unsettled areas in employee benefits today: preemption, remedies, and fiduciary duties. Dana Muir will focus on fiduciary issues and remedies. Then Jeffrey Lewis will focus on preemption and will also discuss remedies and fiduciary duties. Finally, we are delighted to introduce Merton Bernstein, who is the author of The Future of Private Pensions. He will talk about the future of private pensions.